ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Serious Fraud Office

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Serious Fraud Office's incorrect reclamation of VAT on fees it paid to barristers and other contractors; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Heald: The incorrect reclamation of VAT by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is an historical event which the Director of the SFO has taken steps to deal with. I am satisfied that it has no implications for the policies of the SFO.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeship starts by size of workplace in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of workplaces that have employed apprentices are published at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/309551/apprenticeship-workplaces-by-region-and-constituency.xls
	Reliable information is not collected on the size of employer.

Apprentices

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships have been taken up by (a) men and (b) women (i) aged up to 21 years, (ii) aged 22 to 24 years and (iii) aged 25 years and above in the last year.

Matthew Hancock: Information on apprenticeship starts by gender and age is published in a supplementary table, entitled ‘Breakdown by age, gender and level: starts 2002/03 to 2012/13’, to a Statistical First Release (SFR). The age breakdowns provided are under 19, 19 to 24 and 25+.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships--2
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/317564/apprenticeship-starts-by-age-gender-level.xls

British Library Business and IP Centre

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the British Library's Business & IP Centre national network.

David Willetts: The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. It is too early to provide impact data for the whole network, but data for the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle, based on user feedback, shows that:
	Almost 50% of users increased their awareness of the importance of intellectual property
	Over 40% were helped to develop their ideas
	Over 40% were able to understand their customers and markets better
	Almost a third acquired new skills through workshops
	Close to a quarter were helped to write their business plan
	Over 20% were helped to protect and exploit their novel ideas/designs
	In total the two centres helped to create approximately 2,800 businesses and have further created approximately 3,500 additional jobs in new and existing businesses.

British Library Business and IP Centre

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the contribution to the economy of the British Library's Business & IP Centre national network.

David Willetts: The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. To date performance data is only available from the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle. This shows an average turnover increase of £8.80 in London and £6.23 in Newcastle per £1 of public money invested.
	In addition £47.1 million in London and £2 million in Newcastle of net gross value added has been generated, equating to £8.13 in London and £4.11 in Newcastle of GVA per £1 of public money invested.

British Library Business and IP Centre

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs created in partnership with the British Library's Business & IP Centre national network.

David Willetts: The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. It is too early to provide impact data for the whole network, but data for the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle shows that since they opened these two centres have helped to create approximately 2800 businesses and 3500 jobs in new and existing businesses.

Business: Cybercrime

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support and protection the Government provides to UK businesses experiencing cyber attacks.

David Willetts: The UK Cyber Security Strategy, published in November 2011, sets out how the UK will support economic prosperity, protect national security and safeguard the public’s way of life by building a more trusted and resilient digital environment. A £860 million National Cyber Security programme is in place to 2016 to deliver the objectives of the strategy. These objectives include making the UK one of the most secure places in the world to do business in cyberspace, and making the UK more resilient to cyber attack and better able to protect our interests in cyberspace.
	Government is working closely with industry to address the threat and impact of cyber attacks. These measures include:
	Creating a National Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT UK which works closely with industry, Government and academia to enhance UK cyber resilience. It provides support to Critical National Infrastructure companies to handle cyber security incidents. The Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP), part of CERT UK, enables companies to share information and intelligence on cyber security threats.
	The creation of a Government approved list of Cyber Incident ‘Clean Up’ companies which can help companies respond effectively to incidents and get them up and running as soon as possible.
	Advice and guidance resources including the ’10 Steps to Cyber Security’ guidance, the CyberStreetwise behaviour change campaign:
	www.cyberstreetwise.com
	and the Government and industry funded GetSafeOnline:
	www.getsafeonline.org.
	The Government-backed and industry approved Cyber Essentials scheme, which enables businesses to certify themselves against core technical cyber requirements and implement a basic level of cyber hygiene against cyber threats.
	Practical support for small businesses with the Cyber Security Innovation Vouchers Scheme to enable individual businesses to receive £5,000 to increase their cyber security.
	Support for industry initiatives such as Nominet’s ‘Cyber Assist’ pilot service for small and medium-sized enterprises experiencing cyber attacks.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) internal and (b) external complaints have been received by his Department about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct since 2010; and what steps his Department has taken in response to each such complaint.

Jo Swinson: There have been no internal or external complaints about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct received by the Departmental Complaints Officer since 2010.

Foreign Investment in UK

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage foreign direct investment from member states of the Commonwealth.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has operations in 39 Commonwealth countries.
	During the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, UKTI, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the Commonwealth Business Council are delivering a business conference for 200 Commonwealth business leaders.
	The UK Government is also organising a British Business House during the Games, which will highlight to Commonwealth businesses the benefits of investing in the UK.
	Regular ministerial visits and trade missions to Commonwealth countries are used to promote the UK’s competitive business environment and opportunities in the UK for foreign direct investment.

Higher Education: Libraries

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to improve transparency in the procurement processes of university libraries.

David Willetts: Higher education institutions are independent, autonomous bodies. As such, they are responsible for their own procurement policies and the transparency of their processes. Universities are able to draw upon the Higher Education Procurement Academy, a sector-led initiative to improve expertise and capacity in UK university procurement.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the value of publishing the average total debt of individuals subject to individual voluntary arrangements.

Jo Swinson: Individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) are supervised by licensed insolvency practitioners, who are required to notify the Insolvency Service of the registration of new IVAs, the name, date of birth and address of the individual, and the date of completion or termination of the IVA. They are not required to provide information on the amount of debt, so it is not possible to publish such information.

Intellectual Property

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to improve the protection of intellectual property in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government is committed to protecting all Intellectual Property rights and has taken a number of steps recently to help rights holders protect and enforce their intellectual property. These include funding a dedicated police IP Crime Unit within the City of London police; making the intentional copying of registered designs a criminal offence; and introducing reforms to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, including the introduction of a 'small claims track' to help businesses gain access to justice at proportional cost to what is at stake.

Intellectual Property: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to encourage the development of intellectual property in (a) Brighton, Kemptown and (b) Brighton and Hove; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) provides support and information on how to make the most of all forms of intellectual property (IP) to businesses on a national basis. In 2013 the IPO launched IP for Business, a set of online training tools and advice to help businesses understand IP and how it can be used within a business to generate revenue. The IPO also funds 300 IP audits, targeted through partners at high growth businesses across the UK. Over the last year the IPO has spoken to 18000 people through seminars, workshops and events; since October 2013, 276 businesses have benefited from face-to-face information and support from the IPO at seven events in the Brighton area—including Brighton, Lewes, Crawley and Bognor Regis. In addition, the IPO has a national consumer's campaign focussing on awareness raising and encouraging respect of IP.

Manufacturing Industries

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of manufacturing activity in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last four years; and what assessment he has made of future capacity in that sector.

Michael Fallon: The following table lists the contribution of manufacturing to employment and gross value added (GVA) for the West Midlands and England and to employment for Coventry. Estimates of GVA are not collected in sufficient detail to report on manufacturing in Coventry. GVA figures for 2012 by region are not yet available. Data on future capacity are not available from official sources, but the Foresight report into the future of manufacturing, published in October 2013, concluded that manufacturing is set to enter a dynamic new phase, driven by rapid changes in technology, new ways of doing business, global competition and potential volatility around the price and availability of resources. It makes recommendations for government and industry to ensure that the UK manufacturing sector is able to compete and thrive in this new world.
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Gross values added:     
			 Coventry (£ million) — — — — 
			 W Midlands (£ million) 11,769 12,869 13,520 — 
			 England (£ million) 94,204 98,938 100,603 — 
			 Employment:     
			 Coventry (Thousand) 16 15 14 15 
			 W Midlands (Thousand) 284 288 282 277 
		
	
	
		
			 England (Thousand) 2,098 2,047 2,042 2,024 
			 Source: Regional National Accounts and Business Registers Employment Survey(both ONS)

New Businesses: Technology

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage technology-based start-ups to develop in towns and cities outside London.

David Willetts: The Information Economy Strategy published in June 2013 sets out the Government's plans to help digital technology-based businesses start up and thrive throughout the UK.
	This Department is supporting Tech City UK's work with the UK Tech Cluster Alliance network. A key role of the Alliance which currently contains 13 clusters located throughout the UK, is to promote and facilitate connections and identify common barriers to growth.

CABINET OFFICE

Administration of Justice

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will discuss with (a) the Secretary of State for Justice and (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Department the implications for his policies on delivery of public services by private companies of the findings of the Howard League for Penal Reform report, Corporate Crime? A dossier on the failure of privatisation in the criminal justice system, published in May 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: As was the case under previous Administrations details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many civil servants employed through the analytical graduate fast track schemes between June 2004 and June 2014 were educated at (a) private and (b) state schools;
	(2)  how many civil servants employed through the Human Resources graduate fast track scheme between 1 June 2004 and 1 June 2014 were educated at (a) private and (b) state schools;
	(3)  how many civil servants employed through the Technology in Business graduate fast track scheme between 1 June 2004 and 1 June 2014 were educated at (a) private and (b) state schools;
	(4)  how many civil servants employed through the generalist graduate fast track schemes between 1 June 2004 and 1 June 2014 were educated at (a) private and (b) state schools;
	(5)  how many civil servants employed through the European graduate fast track scheme between 1 June 2004 and 1 June 2014 were educated at (a) private and (b) state schools.

Francis Maude: This data was not requested under previous governments, nor indeed prior to 2013. Details of Fast Stream employees will be published in due course.

Cybercrime

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 811, on cybercrime, whether the £860 million includes the £650 million in his Department's report The UK Cyber Security Strategy: Protecting and Promoting the UK in a Digital Age published in November 2011; and how much funding from the National Cyber Security Strategy has been allocated to the Ministry of Defence.

Francis Maude: The figure given includes the £650 million funding the National Cyber Security programme established in response to the UK Cyber Security Strategy.
	The initial £650 million was allocated in the 2010 spending review and a further £210 million was allocated until 2016 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), following the 2013 Spending Review. MOD were allocated £59.5 million of funding until April 2014.

Government Departments: Procurement

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance he gives to Departments on the publication of business cases for major projects.

Francis Maude: Relevant information is publically available at:
	https://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/information-access-rights/foi/foi-assumption-procurement-annex-a.pdf

Government Digital Service

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of GDS technical employees are female.

Nick Hurd: All staff employed by the Government Digital Service (GDS) have a mixture of both technical and digital skills. Around 66% of GDS staff are male. The Government is committed to increasing the number of girls and young women studying STEM subjects at schools and university, and wants to ensure that we attract more of the very best people into jobs in technical and digital fields.
	The civil service recruits and retains staff on merit.

Security: Northern Ireland

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department provides to officials in the Northern Ireland Executive on personal security.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office provides security guidance to all departments As was the case under successive administrations, we do not comment on the specifics of that advice.

Training

John Woodcock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what professional development courses are made available to staff of his Department; and what the cost to the public purse is of each such course.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office accesses professional development through Civil Service Learning.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Private Rented Housing: Smoke Alarms

Nick Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of the respondents to his Department's Review of Property conditions in the Private Rented Sector issued in February 2014 supported the mandatory installation of smoke alarms in privately rented housing. [R]

Kris Hopkins: DCLG published a discussion document earlier this year, which invited views on what more could be done to improve property conditions in the private rented sector. Responses are now being considered and we will publish our response along with a summary of the views submitted later this summer.

Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contact his officials have had with the European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief in the last 12 months.

Stephen Williams: My Department’s Integration Team has not had any contact with the European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, although we recognise the important role of the Group in raising awareness about the issue. My right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi, the Senior Minister for Faith and Communities, who is also a Minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has made Freedom of Religion or Belief a priority and the government works in multilateral fora to ensure that it is afforded the international legal protection that it deserves. My right hon. and noble Friend has also convened meetings of international leaders to generate practical steps to promote freedom of religion or belief and to fight religious intolerance within our societies. In the UK she chairs a Sub Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, made up of human rights advocates, academics and civil society leaders, ensuring that government takes a well informed and inclusive approach to promoting and protecting this human right.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many apprentices have been employed by contractors and sub-contractors to his Department in each year since 2010-11; and what proportion they make up of the workforce of those contractors and sub-contractors.

Helen Grant: DCMS does not hold such information for contractors and sub-contractors.

European Union: Cultural Heritage

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding the UK has contributed to the European Parliament's House of European History Project to date.

Edward Vaizey: The UK Government has not provided any direct support for this project but the House of European History Project is funded by the wider European Parliament budget.

Mass Media: EU Grants and Loans

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which media organisations in the UK have received funding from the European Parliament to promote coverage of EU-level decision-making in the last three years.

Edward Vaizey: Information published by the European Parliament indicates that no UK media organisations received funding in 2011, 2012 or 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members.

Helen Grant: The Department routinely sends e-mail replies to correspondence from hon. Members unless we are specifically requested to reply by post.

Mobile Phones: Hertfordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the decision not to proceed with a mast at Fownhope, if he will include the lack of mobile network coverage in that area in any future discussion he has with network operators.

Edward Vaizey: Mobile coverage in the UK as a whole is amongst the best in Europe but we aspire to better. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), has been discussing with Ofcom and the mobile network operators what more can be done improve coverage. No firm decisions have been taken yet on the most effective methods of extending coverage.

Tourist Attractions

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance his Department gives to community groups who wish to take over the running of museums and tourist attractions.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS does not give direct assistance to community groups who wish to take over the running of museums and tourist attractions. However advice may be sought through bodies including Arts Council England and the Association of Independent Museums, alongside local Destination Organisations. My Department will liaise with the Department for Communities and Local Government, Cabinet Office and the Big Lottery Fund to see where further community support might be appropriate.

DEFENCE

Clyde Naval Base

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for International Security Strategy approved the proposals to limit contractor liability at HMNB Clyde to £100,000 despite the objection by the hon. Member for Newport West.

Andrew Murrison: Having considered the objection raised I decided to proceed with the Treasury Minute on Contingent Liability as this work is an essential enabler in allowing the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to deliver its projects and estate maintenance requirements on estates where nuclear assets are sited.
	It is the MOD'S intent to limit the contractor's liability at Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde to £100,000. Since no commercial contractor could reasonably be expected to assume total liabilities or to be able to insure against them, such a liability can only be borne by the state.

Defence: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the £72.3 billion allocated in the Defence and Equipment Plan 2013 supporting existing in-service equipment, how much of that allocation is devoted to (a) nuclear propulsion and (b) nuclear weapons.

Philip Dunne: Of the £72.3 billion referred to in the 2013 Equipment Plan we plan to allocate to the support of in-service equipment over the next decade, £1.6 billion is for nuclear propulsion and £13.0 billion for maintaining the Trident Strategic Weapons System, including costs associated with the nuclear warhead.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

A14: Kettering

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to encourage the funding for and implementation of the strategic economic plans submitted by the Northamptonshire LEP and the South East Midlands LEP (a) generally and (b) in regard to junction 10A on the A14 near Kettering.

Greg Clark: I am pleased to say that Northamptonshire LEP has secured £67.3 million and the South East Midlands LEP £79.3 million from the local growth fund. As part of these deals we have agreed that the Department for Transport will work with local partners to develop the detailed business case and design work for the proposed junction 10a on the A14 at Kettering. This will help ensure local partners can put forward a strong business case for funding.
	The support secured through the Growth Deals is in addition to the £15 million which the Communities Secretary announced last week to enable the delivery of 1750 new homes in East Kettering.

Elections: Fraud

Simon Hart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what checks are in place to ensure that multiple property owners do not vote twice in European or general elections on the same date as local or council elections; how many people have been charged with attempting to vote twice in the last three such elections; and how many fines have been issued as a result of those charges.

Greg Clark: It is illegal for an individual who is registered in more than one local authority area to vote more than once at a European parliamentary or general election; however electors are not prevented from voting in local government elections in those areas.
	The presiding officer at a polling station may ask any elector if they have already voted at an election, and may withhold a ballot paper from an elector if they do not answer the question satisfactorily. The electoral register is marked to record the issuing of ballot papers to individuals at polling stations, and similarly a list is maintained of returned postal votes. These records can assist with an investigation should any voting irregularities be suspected.
	The Government does not collect or hold data on electoral fraud.

EDUCATION

Special Educational Needs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2014, Official Report, column 83W, on special educational needs, how many schools in (a) England and (b) Birmingham have received extra funding from local authorities to assist them with disproportionate numbers of pupils with special educational needs in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson: The information requested is not collected centrally at this level of detail.

Teachers: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average pay for teachers was in York unitary authority area in 2008-09 and in each year since.

David Laws: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 July 2013, Official Report, column 297W, which provided the gross average salary of full-time regular qualified teachers in service in local authority maintained schools in cash terms and real terms for York local authority, in each March, 1997 to 2009 and November 2010 to November 2011.
	The gross average salary of full-time regular qualified teachers in service in publicly funded schools in cash terms and real terms for York local authority, in November 2012 is £36,300 in both cash and real terms (rounded to the nearest £100). 2013 figures will be available in late July 2014. Publicly-funded schools include both local authority maintained schools and academies. The source of this information is the November 2012 School Workforce Census.
	Real terms figures were calculated from HMT GDP deflators, financial year, published on 1 April 2014 at the following web link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of young people not in employment, education or training in each of the last five years were women.

Matthew Hancock: National statistics on the proportion and number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England are published online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-in-education-training-and-employment-age-16-to-18
	This includes tables showing the numbers of young people NEET by gender from which the gender balance can be derived.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many and what proportion of people were deleted from the electoral register after the second year of non-response to electoral canvass in the 10 local authorities with the (a) greatest and (b) smallest decreases; and what parliamentary constituencies are covered by such local authorities.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the requested data are presented in the following table. These data are for Great Britain and therefore excludes Northern Ireland.
	
		
			 Local authority Number of deletions (from November 2013 register) following second year of non-response Deletions (from November 2013 register) following second year of non-response (percentage of register) Decrease (December 2012 to February/March 2014) 
			 Leeds 28,190 5.0 -24,177 
			 Birmingham 0 0.0 -20,243 
			 Cornwall 16,541 3.9 -13,273 
			 Newham 2,491 1.2 -13,183 
			 Northampton 2,659 1.7 -11,851 
			 Shropshire 3,360 1.4 -11,551 
			 Barnet 2,422 1.0 -11,255 
			 Maidstone 10,498 8.7 -9,257 
			 Durham 1,191 0.3 -6,683 
			 Taunton Deane — — -7,578 
			 Adur 370 0.8 -109 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 195 0.2 -99 
			 North West Leicestershire 20 0.0 -97 
			 Lewes 569 0.7 -82 
			 Cotswold 105 0.2 -80 
			 Oadby and Wigston 45 0.1 -73 
			 Newcastle-Under-Lyme 885 0.9 -72 
			 Shetland Islands 17 0.1 -48 
			 Surrey Heath 602 0.9 -36 
			 Tunbridge Wells 0 0.0 -22 
		
	
	The following constituencies are covered by these areas:
	East Ham
	West Ham
	Elmet and Rothwell
	Leeds Central
	Leeds East
	Leeds North East
	Leeds North West
	Leeds West
	Morley and Outwood
	Pudsey
	Birmingham Edgbaston
	Birmingham, Erdington
	Birmingham, Hall Green
	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	Birmingham, Ladywood
	Birmingham Northfield
	Birmingham, Perry Barr
	Birmingham Selly Oak
	Birmingham, Yardley
	Sutton Coldfield
	Camborne and Redruth
	North Cornwall
	South East Cornwall
	St Ives (includes the Isles of Scilly)
	Truro and Falmouth
	Northampton North
	Northampton South
	South Northamptonshire
	Ludlow
	North Shropshire
	Shrewsbury and Atcham
	The Wrekin
	Chipping Barnet
	Finchley and Golders Green
	Hendon
	Faversham and Mid Kent
	Maidstone and The Weald
	Taunton Deane
	Bishop Auckland
	City of Durham
	Easington
	North Durham
	North West Durham
	Sedgefield
	East Worthing and Shoreham
	Staffordshire Moorlands
	Stone
	North West Leicestershire
	Brighton, Kemptown
	Lewes
	The Cotswolds
	Harborough
	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	Staffordshire Moorlands
	Stoke-on-Trent North
	Stone
	Orkney and Shetland
	Surrey Heath
	Maidstone and The Weald
	Tunbridge Wells

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities have failed standard 3 door-to-door canvassing more than once and (a) have and (b) have not applied for additional central Government funding for electoral registration.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the electoral registration officers (EROs) for the authorities set out in the following list have not met standard 3 in more than one year:
	Brentwood
	Broxbourne
	Castle Point
	East Devon
	East Dorset
	East Hampshire
	East Hertfordshire
	Epping Forest
	Great Yarmouth
	Gwynedd
	Hyndburn
	Lancaster
	Maldon
	Merthyr Tydfil
	Mid Devon
	Mid Sussex
	North Devon
	North Dorset
	North Lanarkshire
	North Warwickshire
	Powys
	Rhondda, Cynon, Taff
	Sedgemoor
	Solihull
	South Lanarkshire
	Taunton Deane
	The Vale of Glamorgan
	Torridge
	Uttlesford
	Warwick
	West Devon
	West Oxfordshire
	West Somerset.
	The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not hold information on applications made for central Government funding for electoral registration. The Cabinet Office is responsible for managing this process.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the postal vote matching rates were during the data matching dry run in each (a) local authority area and (b) constituency in the UK.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the data for local authorities is available on its website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0020/163145/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Local-Authority.xls
	The Commission does not hold the data in a way that is broken down by constituency.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if the Electoral Commission will conduct research into the use of data matching of local and national databases to better identify people who are entitled to register to vote but who are not registered.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the Cabinet Office has previously conducted several pilots on this topic and the Commission has evaluated them. The full evaluation reports are available on the Commission’s website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/electoral-registration-research
	The Cabinet Office plans a further pilot for early 2015 and the Commission intends to evaluate this as well.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what number and percentage of electors were added to the electoral register as a result of the implementation of standard three door to door canvassing in each constituent part and region of the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that they do not hold the data requested. The data collected annually from EROs is household-level data rather than elector level data, reflecting the household nature of the annual canvass.
	The data collected includes the number of household canvass returns made via different response methods-including personal canvasser, and this is available for each year from 2008 on their website.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if the Electoral Commission will make it their policy to gather information on registration levels on an annual basis.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that they collect from every ERO, and publish, annual electoral registration statistics covering a range of topics including the number of electors on the registers, response rates to the annual canvass, numbers of additions and deletions on the registers and levels of carry forward.
	This data collection will be more frequent during the transition to individual electoral registration (IER).
	The Commission further informs me that they report periodically on the overall levels of accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers. Such studies are costly to conduct and it is not therefore feasible to conduct them annually. There are two such studies planned as part of the Commission's approach to monitoring the implementation of IER.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what estimate the Electoral Commission makes of how many registered electors move house and (a) re-register and (b) fail to re-register to vote each year.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it intends to provide information on this in its report which uses census data to assess the completeness and accuracy of the registers. This is due to be published in July.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the number of local authorities who conducted a dry run in data matching and did not repeat this to the Electoral Commission.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not made any estimate of the number of electoral registration officers (EROs) who did not undertake local data matching trials following the dry run of confirmation in 2013. 139 EROs reported results to the Commission but there are likely to have been other EROs who carried out some activities but did not report it to the Commission.
	The Commission further informs me that it did ask EROs, on a separate survey, whether local data matching would be important during the live run of confirmation and 91% said that it would.
	The Commission therefore expects more EROs to conduct local data matching for the live run of confirmation than reported on results following the dry run.
	The Commission, working with Cabinet Office, will be collecting data from all EROs after the live run of the confirmation process which will demonstrate levels of usage of local data in practice. This data will be published on the Commission's website.

Polling Stations: Schools

Oliver Colvile: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will take steps to ensure that schools are only used as polling stations as a last resort, in order to minimise disruption to pupils' education.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the Returning Officer (RO) at an election is responsible for deciding which polling stations will be used for the poll. The Electoral Commission issues guidance to ROs to support them in reaching decisions on the selection of venues for polling stations. Electoral legislation provides that ROs can require a room in publicly-funded schools for use as a polling station and can use these rooms free of charge.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many apprentices have been employed by contractors and sub-contractors to his Department in each year since 2010-11; and what proportion such apprentices make up of the workforce of those contractors and sub-contractors.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not maintain records of apprentices employed by our contractors and sub-contractors.

Energy Companies Obligation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households (a) in fuel poverty, (b) not in fuel poverty and (c) in total have received measures under the energy company obligation to date; and what the average cost per household under the scheme was.

Gregory Barker: Estimating the number of fuel poor households helped through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) would require us to know the equivalised household income and modelled energy bill of every household receiving support through the scheme.
	However, we anticipate a large number of fuel poor households have been assisted under ECO. This is because there is a strong correlation between the characteristics of fuel poor households and the eligibility criteria for help under ECO Affordable Warmth and the Carbon Saving Communities Obligation. Further, the policy’s design provides incentives for support to be delivered to those facing the highest energy bills: when such households are on low incomes, there is a high chance they will be fuel poor.
	We publish regular data on the number of households support by ECO, under each part of the scheme, as well as the number and type of measures delivered. We also publish data on the costs of measures under ECO. All of this data is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics
	The Department will be publishing a final assessment of the impact of the ECO policy to accompany the forthcoming response to the Government’s consultation on “The Future of the Energy Company Obligation”.

Energy Companies Obligation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department's plans to publish its response to the consultation on the future of the energy company obligation.

Gregory Barker: The Department aims to publish the Government response to the consultation very shortly.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 595W, on energy: prices, at which meetings with (a) EDF, (b) E-on, (c) Npower and (d) Scottish Power he asked them to pass on the savings from changes to green levies to customers on fixed-price deals.

Michael Fallon: The Government has met with EdF Energy, EON, Npower and Scottish Power on several occasions at both ministerial and official level. A number of issues are discussed at such meetings including the impacts of the proposed changes to the Energy Company Obligation.

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department will publish its fuel poverty strategy.

Gregory Barker: The Government is preparing proposals for a new fuel poverty strategy for England in line with the provisions of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000.

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 1252, on energy markets (competition), what estimate he has made of the level of fuel poverty under the low income high costs indicator in each year between 1997 and 2010.

Gregory Barker: The number of fuel poor households in England under the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator of fuel poverty are available for the following years:
	
		
			  Fuel poor households (million) Percentage of households fuel poor Year on year percentage change 
			 1996 2.68 13.7 - 
			 2003 2.44 11.8 - 
			 2004 2.49 11.9 2.1 
			 2005 2.43 11.5 -2.6 
			 2006 2.26 10.7 -6.8 
			 2007 2.36 11.0 4.2 
			 2008 2.44 11.4 3.5 
			 2009 2.49 11.5 2.0 
			 2010 2.47 11.5 -0.5 
			 2011 2.39 10.9 -3.4 
			 2012 2.28 10.4 -4.5

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many households are forecast to be lifted from fuel poverty under the energy company obligation in each year between 2013 and 2017;
	(2)  how many households (a) in fuel poverty and (b) not in fuel poverty and (c) in total he expects to receive assistance under the energy company obligation in each year between 2013 and 2017.

Gregory Barker: The Department’s latest assessment of the impact of the energy company obligation (ECO) on fuel poverty is set out in “The Future of the Energy Company Obligation: Assessment of Impacts” published in March 2014. This is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/286926/The_Future_of_the_Energy_ Company_Obligation_Assessment_of_Impacts.pdf

Fuel Poverty

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of fuel poverty in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency and (c) England.

Gregory Barker: The Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty and is clear that we cannot leave the fuel poor behind in meeting our energy and climate change objectives.
	We have a strong package of policies delivering assistance to those in need including: the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Warm Home Discount Scheme and the Big Energy Saving Network.
	By the end of April 2014 ECO has seen the installation of 469,000 insulation and heating measures in over 394,000 low income and vulnerable households.
	The Warm Home Discount helps over 2 million households each year including more than a million low income pensioners who receive the discount automatically. This coming winter, the value of the discount will rise to £140.
	DECC has also committed nearly £2 million for 2013-15 to the Big Energy Saving Network, which provides grant funding to community and third sector organisations throughout Great Britain. The funding delivers help directly to communities and assists vulnerable consumers to take action by switching their tariff or payment method and taking up energy efficiency offers.
	Government is preparing proposals on a new fuel poverty target and Strategy for England in line with the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000. We will be publishing our target proposals and consultation in preparation for a new fuel poverty strategy in due course.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding has been (a) allocated and (b) spent on the Green Deal cashback incentive scheme to date.

Gregory Barker: Up to £125 million was allocated to the Green Deal Cashback scheme and the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF).
	At the end of May 20141 over £10 million had been allocated to customers, of which £6.4 million had been paid in cashback payments following installation of 13,001 measures.
	At the end of June 2014, the GDHIF had allocated £18 million.
	1 DECC statistics on Green Deal and ECO are published monthly at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-monthly-statistics-june-2014
	Figures to the end of June will be published in the next monthly release on 22 July.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many households have received free green deal assessments to date;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the average cost of a Green Deal assessment.

Gregory Barker: The latest research, with households that had an assessment between January and March 2014, found that the majority of households said they did not pay for their Green Deal assessment because the assessor company did not charge a fee. For those that paid for an assessment, the (mean) average cost was £157.

Housing: Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what financial support his Department has planned to allocate to (a) the Green Deal and (b) other domestic energy efficiency programmes for expenditure in (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16, (iii) 2016-17 and (iv) any subsequent years.

Gregory Barker: All domestic energy efficiency initiatives are included within the overall Green Deal programme.
	As part of the Autumn Statement in December 2013, the Government announced that £540 million will be made available to support energy efficiency improvements over the next three years, of which £450 million will support domestic installation of energy efficiency measures.
	£150 million has been allocated in 2014-15.
	All further budget allocations will be made during the forthcoming Spending Review and DECC business planning exercises.

Housing: Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what financial support his Department allocated to (a) the Green Deal and (b) other domestic energy efficiency programmes in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14.

Gregory Barker: All domestic energy efficiency initiatives are included within the overall Green Deal programme.
	
		
			  Allocated £ million 
			 2011-12 67.4 
			 2012-13 71.65 
			 2013-14 200.1

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the total number of ministerial replies from his Department to hon. Members in a parliamentary session; and what proportion of such replies are sent (a) by letter and (b) by email.

Gregory Barker: Based on the last parliamentary session, we estimate that 6,960 ministerial replies are sent out from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to hon. Members. The time taken to establish what proportion of such replies are sent by (a) letter, or (b) email, would involve filtering down more specifically, and this would involve significant manual sifting of individual correspondence items and thus entail a disproportionate cost. However, we estimate that 98% of replies are sent by letter, as we only reply to ministerial letters by e-mail on request from hon. Members, and we are rarely asked to do so.

Renewable Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 461W, on renewable energy, UIN 159722, if he will place in the Library a copy of the list of projects recorded on the renewable energy planning database since 1 January 2010 with the potential to generate 20MW or more cross-referenced with information provided by developers.

Gregory Barker: I am placing in the Libraries of the House a copy of the list of projects, as requested.

Renewables Obligation

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what ex-ante assessment and evaluations his Department made of the effectiveness of the Renewables Obligation Certificates scheme during the period of its implementation.

Gregory Barker: The Renewables Obligation (RO) has been reviewed and updated several times since it was introduced in 2002. The scheme underwent a major reform in 2009 to bring forward more renewable generation through the introduction of banded support for different technologies and to increase the scheme’s effectiveness. The reforms were set out in the ‘Government Response to the Statutory Consultation on the Renewables Obligation Order 2009’ published by DECC in December 2008. A copy can be found on the National Archives web page:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090203212240/http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file49342.pdf
	The RO has been very effective in supporting the deployment of new renewable generation. By the end of 2013, renewables represented 14.9% of all UK electricity generation, 82% of which was contributed by stations accredited under the RO.
	DECC implemented revised RO support levels in April 2013 following a comprehensive review. The new support levels, which apply until the RO closes to new capacity at the end of March 2017, will ensure that the scheme continues to drive an increase in renewable electricity deployment while delivering value for money for consumers. The relevant documents are available on the gov.uk web site:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewables-obligation-banding-review

Wind Power: North Yorkshire

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many onshore wind turbines there were in North Yorkshire in each year since 2008-09.

Gregory Barker: The number of onshore wind turbines that have become fully operational in North Yorkshire in the years since the start of 2008 are as follows:
	
		
			  Date fully operational Number of wind turbines 
			 2008 22 April 2008 8 
			 2010 4 October 2010 12 
			 2011 1 January 2011 2 
			 Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, May 2014

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many apprentices have been employed by contractors and sub-contractors to his Department in each year since 2010-11; and what proportion of the total workforce of such contractors is made up by apprentices.

Dan Rogerson: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the role of outdoor-reared pigs in transmission of bovine TB; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The veterinary risk assessment on pigs has recently been reviewed. We intend to publish this in a forthcoming consultation package on TB in non-bovine farmed and companion animals.

Senior Civil Servants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in his Department since 2010 were previously (a) political appointees within that Department and (b) employed by a political party.

Dan Rogerson: We do not collate this information centrally and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU Immigration

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to his Department's announcement of 20 February 2014, on funding for the International Organization for Migration Greece Assistance for the Voluntary Return and Reintegration of Returnees project, from which budgets the Government’s contribution will be funded; how that funding will be spent; what assistance will be provided to the victims of human trafficking from EU countries being supported through that project; what reintegration assistance will be provided to the 75 returning migrants; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: Her Majesty's Government Returns and Reintegration Fund is financing the project. The funding will be used to return to their countries of origin migrants who might otherwise travel on to the UK illegally and thereby impose significantly greater costs on UK taxpayers. The funding will include ticket costs for repatriated migrants and small resettlement grants. 75 of the most vulnerable migrants will have support such as training or in finding work as part of their reintegration. Victims of trafficking from EU countries are eligible to receive funding for transportation to their country of origin.

Recruitment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil servants employed through his Department's graduate fast track scheme between 1 June 2004 and 1 June 2014 were educated at (a) private and (b) state schools.

Hugh Robertson: This information is not held centrally. It could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

South Sudan

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent violence against women in the conflict-affected states of South Sudan.

Mark Simmonds: The United Kingdom is working to prevent violence against women in South Sudan in a number of ways. First, the UK, with the US and Norway (the Troika), is an active member of the peace talks in Addis Ababa and is supporting regional efforts to address the crisis. Secondly, we are supporting the work of the African Union's Commission of Inquiry that will investigate allegations of violence and abuse to ensure accountability. Third, the UK is one of the leading humanitarian donors contributing, around £94 million to date, that will help protect the most vulnerable, especially women and girls. And fourth, and crucially in this regard, South Sudan is a country for engagement for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative. The Government signed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, and attended the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London on 10-13 June. We will continue to engage the South Sudan Government on how to take this initiative forward.

USA

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the report of the Stimson Task Force on US drone policy, published on 28 June 2014; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Hugh Robertson: We have seen the report and are studying it. We expect all states to observe the requirements of international law in their use of remotely piloted air systems, as with other military platforms.

HEALTH

Arthritis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of how much arthritis has cost the UK economy in each year since 2010.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines on osteoarthritis (CG177) and rheumatoid arthritis (CG79) both provide estimates of total costs of these conditions.
	In the osteoarthritis guideline the costs are presented as follows:
	“In 1999-2000, 36 million working days were lost due to osteoarthritis alone, at an estimated cost of £3.2 billion in lost production. At the same time, £43 million was spent on community services and £215 million were spent on social services due to osteoarthritis. In 2000, over 44,000 hip replacements and over 35,000 knee replacements were performed at a cost of £405 million.”
	In the rheumatoid arthritis guideline the costs are presented as follows:
	“Approximately one third of patients cease work because of the disease within two years of onset, and this prevalence increases thereafter. The total costs of RA in the UK, including indirect costs and work related disability, have been estimated at between £3.8 billion and £4.75 billion per year.”

Autism

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to improve the diagnostic pathway for adults with autism in the autism statutory guidance.

Norman Lamb: A key action from Think Autism, the update to the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy for England, was that NHS England would help to drive up quality in autism diagnostic services. We intend that the forthcoming revised statutory guidance will continue to include the importance of having access to a diagnostic pathway and improving the quality of services for adults with autism.

Children: Autism

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate how many autistic children there were in the most recent five year period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Department for Education collects data on children's special educational needs. The following table shows those children in schools in the last five years whose primary need was autistic spectrum disorder. These figures will not include pre-school children with autism, children with autism who have a different primary special educational need, or those not in receipt of special educational support. The Special Needs and Autism Project which studied prevalence of disorders of the autism spectrum in children in South Thames reported in 2006 that prevalence of all autistic spectrum disorders was 116.1 per 10,000 (or 1.161%).
	
		
			  Number 
			 2009 51,160 
			 2010 56,260 
			 2011 61,570 
			 2012 66,195 
			 2013 70,780 
		
	
	The new arrangements for joint commissioning for children and young people with special educational needs and disability, to be introduced from September, provide an effective framework for clinical commissioning groups and local authorities to work together on single, co-ordinated assessments to meet the needs of children with autism and other special educational needs, focusing on the outcomes which make a difference to the child and their families.

Contraceptives

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when his Department last conducted a review of evidence concerning the long-term health effects of emergency hormonal contraception; what evidence that review took into account; and if he will commission another such review;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the effects of the use of emergency hormonal contraception on the rate of abortion in women aged under 25; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency keeps the safety of all medicines, including emergency hormonal contraception, under continuous review.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the level of funding for diabetes research since 1 January 2012.

Daniel Poulter: Expenditure by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on diabetes research is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2010-11 23.8 
			 2011-12 26.9 
			 2012-13 25.5 
			 2013-14 25.4 
		
	
	Total spend in future years by the NIHR on diabetes research depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including diabetes. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and the national health service, value for money and scientific quality.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diabetics have missed routine health checks since 1 January 2014.

Jane Ellison: People diagnosed with diabetes should receive the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence key processes of care as part of their management provided in primary care. However, information is not collected centrally on the number of patients who do not attend these appointments.

General Dental Council

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of plans by the General Dental Council to increase the Annual Retention Fee by 64 per cent on the ability of the NHS to attract new dentists from all sectors of society.

Daniel Poulter: No assessment has been made of the effect on the ability of the national health service to attract new dentists as a result of the General Dental Council's (GDC) proposal to increase the annual retention fee.
	The GDC is an independent body and it is therefore for the GDC to determine the level of the annual fee it charges for registration. The proposed fee increase is subject to public consultation where the GDC's case will be scrutinised. The Department does not usually contribute to such consultations but all professional regulators, including the GDC, are aware of the Department's position on registration fees. In February 2011, the Government published ‘Enabling Excellence’, which states that we would not expect registration fees to increase beyond their current levels, unless there is a clear and robust business case that any increase is essential to ensure the exercise of statutory duties.

Health Professions: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) GPs, (b) nurses, (c) other clinical staff and (d) staff in total were employed in GP surgeries in the City of York in 1996-97 and in each year since.

Daniel Poulter: The data is not available in the format requested. Data for 2002-12 are provided for North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust and 2013 data for the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, where the City of York now sits. The data has been placed in the Library.
	The two geographical areas are not comparable hence the break in the data between 2012 and 2013. No information is available for the geographical area requested prior to 2002. Data was first reported at primary care trust level in 2002.

Health: Business

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to request reports from those signed up to the Responsibility Deal for Public Health who have yet to submit reports.

Jane Ellison: Departmental officials remind partners, by both telephone and e-mail, to submit their annual updates. Officials liaise directly with the Responsibility Deal partners to request the return of updates, giving clarification and any necessary support where required.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members.

Daniel Poulter: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 7 July 2014, Official Report, columns 5-6W.

Mental Health Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of adults (a) on the Care Programme Approach receiving secondary mental health services and (b) receiving secondary mental health services but who were not on the Care Programme Approach in (i) England, (ii) each mental health trust area (iii) each primary care trust area and (iv) each local authority area were in employment in 2013-14.

Norman Lamb: The information has been placed in the Library.

Mental Illness

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England and Wales have been treated for a mental health problem in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables. We are unable to provide data for Wales as the Mental Health Minimum Dataset and the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) dataset only cover England.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people in contact with secondary mental health services, 2011-12 to 2013-14 
			 Number of people1 
			   Year 
			   2011-12 2012-13 2013-142 
			  England Total 1,607,153 1,590,332 1,746,698 
			      
			  Nottinghamshire Total 30,939 36,202 24,225 
			      
			 5EM Nottingham City Primary Care Trust (PCT) 10,986 13,268 n/a 
			 5N8 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 19,953 22,934 n/a 
			 04K NHS Nottingham City CCG n/a n/a 14,975 
			 04L NHS Nottingham North and East CCG n/a n/a 5,695 
			 04M NHS Nottingham West CCG n/a n/a 3,480 
			 12V Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Commissioning Hub n/a n/a 75 
			      
			 E07000170 Ashfield Local Authority Total 3,839 4,258 4,965 
			 n/a = Data not available. 1 People are counted only once during the year at their highest level of care; these categories are exclusive. 2 For 2013-14 all figures (except England totals) have been rounded to the nearest five to prevent the disclosure of identifiable information. Data source: Mental Health Minimum Dataset (MHMDS) annual files, 2011/12 to 2013-14 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of referrals entering treatment1 in the year by Clinical Commissioning Group2 (CCG), 2012-133 
			 Number of referrals 
			   2012-13 
			  England Total 434,247 
			    
			  Nottinghamshire Total 4,920 
			    
			 04K NHS Nottingham City CCG 2,449 
			 04L NHS Nottingham North And East CCG 1,581 
			 04M NHS Nottingham West CCG 890 
			 12V Derbyshire And Nottinghamshire Commissioning Hub — 
			 1 In order to enter treatment a referral must have a first treatment appointment (an appointment with a therapy type recorded) in the year. 2 CCG is based on GP Practice. Where the GP Practice is not recorded, or cannot be assigned to a CCG, the referral is categorised as 'Unknown'. 3 As this is the first year of reporting from the IAPT dataset, only those referrals received in the year are included. Referrals that predate this point are not included in the figures. Data source: IAPT Annual data 2012-13

Ovarian Cancer

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that people with ovarian cancer and their families are aware of the right to request BRCA1/2 testing at the point of diagnosis; and what steps his Department is taking to encourage greater uptake of BRCA1/2 gene testing.

Jane Ellison: Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines recommend offering genetic testing to people with a 10% likelihood of carrying a BRCA1/2 mutation.
	NHS England is seeking the advice of its specialised gynaecology Clinical Reference Group in order to inform its policy on this matter.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) non-patient egg donors and (b) egg-share donors were admitted to hospital for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in each year since 2009.

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that licensed fertility clinics are only required to report instances of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) to the authority that require a hospital admission with a severe grading, although in practice clinics often report moderate OHSS as well. The HFEA does not, therefore, hold definitive data on the number of women admitted to hospital with OHSS, including non-patient egg donors and egg-share donors.
	Information on the number of cases of OHSS reported to the HFEA, that were assessed as moderate or severe, was given in my written answer to the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Jim Dobbin), on 24 June 2014, Official Report, columns 156-57W.

Skin: North West

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children in (i) the North West, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) East Lancashire contacted their GP because of a skin condition in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not collected.

Winterborne View Hospital

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which facilities patients of Winterborne View were transferred on that hospital's closure; and in which facilities those patients are now.

Norman Lamb: When Winterbourne View Hospital was closed, the remaining patients were transferred to a variety of learning disability care provision. The range of provision included medium and low secure hospitals; NHS Assessment and Treatment facilities; independent hospitals that offer rehabilitation; and specialist residential homes that care for people with challenging behaviour.
	As at 1 July 2014, of the 48 individuals who, at some point, were patients at Winterbourne View Hospital, 10 people are still in hospital; 20 people are living in a residential home; five people are living in supported living accommodation and 12 people have their own tenancy. One person passed away in 2013, who had moved into a residential home.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Air Travel

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions each Minister within her Department has taken domestic flights on official business since May 2010.

Karen Bradley: Details of all overseas ministerial travel are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently placed on the Gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/home-office-mnisters-hospitality-data

Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many apprentices have been employed by contractors and sub-contractors to her Department in each year since 2010-11; and what proportion of the total workforce of such contractors is made up by apprentices.

Karen Bradley: Information is not held centrally and to obtain the data would incur disproportionate cost.

Cannabis

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cannabis factories have been discovered and abolished in the last three years.

Norman Baker: The latest National Policing Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Problem Profile, published in 2012, includes statistics on the identification of cannabis farms across the UK. The main finding of the report is that there was a significant rise in the identification of cannabis farms in 2011/12, from 6866 in 2009/10, to 7660 cannabis farms in 2010/11 and 7865 cannabis farms in 2011/12. The document can be found at:
	http://www.acpo.police.uk/documents/crime/2012/20120430CBACCofCPP.pdf
	The Government works closely with the police to support the policing of illegal cannabis cultivation. The police response to tackle commercial cannabis cultivation includes proactive operations to identify and close down these farms and disrupt the organised crime groups behind them. The police also work to improve their knowledge and understanding of the trade through activity-led intelligence gathering.

Entry Clearances: Syria

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether requests from Syria for visitor visas are dealt with on merit on a case-by-case basis; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: All visa applications made by Syrian nationals are considered on a case by case basis, on their merits, in accordance with the immigration rules.

Firearms: Licensing

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to bring forward proposals for reform of the firearms licensing fees system.

Norman Baker: This matter remains under consideration.
	In parallel, work continues on improving the efficiency of the process including the introduction of an online system (eCommerce) which will be piloted in the autumn and rolled out next year.

Fixed Penalties

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics her Department holds on the use of fixed penalty notices in each local authority area.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold information on the use of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) in each local authority area.
	The Department manages the PentiP system that police forces use to record offences committed where the offence would be suitable for disposal via FPN. Whilst the system provides an opportunity for a local authority area to be recorded, this is not mandatory, so it is unlikely that a full national breakdown is held.

HM Passport Office: Belfast

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport applications have been processed by the passport office in Belfast in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The following table shows the number of passports processed by the Passport Office in Belfast.
	
		
			  Number of passports processed 
			 2010 364,688 
			 2011 408,628 
			 2012 427,422 
			 2013 433,530 
			 2014 (until 31 May) 294,998

Knives: Clacton

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex on incidents involving knives in Clacton and the potential effect of stop and search guidelines.

Damian Green: There have been no specific discussions with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex on incidents involving knives in Clacton.
	The Best Use of Stop and Search scheme was announced by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), on 30 April 2014, and the intention is to launch the scheme in the summer. The scheme aims to achieve greater transparency and community involvement in the use of stop and search by the police and support a more intelligence-led approach leading to better outcomes, particularly improving the stop and search to arrest ratio.
	Only 9% of the 1.2 million stop and searches that took place in 2011-12 led to an arrest. The adoption of an intelligence-led approach to stop and search by the Metropolitan police in January 2012 coincided with a fall of a third in the number of recorded stop and searches taking place between 2011-12 and 2012-13, while the proportion of resultant arrests increased from 8% to 12%. Meanwhile in the same period, offences recorded by the Metropolitan police involving knives or sharp instruments fell by 20%.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 27 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr M Nissar.

Karen Bradley: A letter was sent to the right hon. Member on 9 June 2014.

Nazi War Crimes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people since 1984 have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of being a member of the SS in the Second World War.

Norman Baker: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, it is not possible from this centrally held data to identify those charged with and convicted of being members of individual organisations. This detailed information is not reported to Justice Statistics Analytical Services due to their size and complexity.

Passports

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport renewals for residents in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Lanarkshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK have been completed within a three week turnaround time from receipt in each year since 2009.

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) does not store information at constituency level and the cost of extracting the information requested would be disproportionate. Information on passport processing performance can be found in HMPO's annual report and accounts, via the following links.
	2009-10:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118758/annual-report-accounts-200910.pdf
	2010-11:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identity-and-passport-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-to-2011
	2011-12:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118751/ips-annual-report-2012.pdf
	2012-13:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210619/IPS_annual_report_and_accounts_2012-13.pdf

Policy

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monetary value her Department assigns to the Value of Preventing a Fatality calculation during the process of policy appraisal and evaluation.

Norman Baker: In order to estimate the cost of a homicide, the Home Office uses the value of a prevented fatality, which is estimated by the Department for Transport. The Home Office first estimated the social and economic costs of crime in 2000:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218135832/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hors217.pdf
	The Home Office last comprehensively updated the costs of crime estimates in 2005:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100413151441/http:/www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/rdsolr3005.pdf

Riot Control Weapons

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to make a decision on the request to authorise water cannon for use by the police in England and Wales; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the advice and business case she has received on the use of water cannon in mainland UK.

Damian Green: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 12 May 2014, Official Report, column 412W.

Valuation of Life and Health Inter-departmental Group

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what measures of the value of life and health were included in the evidence submitted as part of her Department's work with the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review;
	(2)  what monetary thresholds were applied to the cost-per-quality adjusted life year quoted in the evidence submitted as part of her Department's work with the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008.

Norman Baker: The most recent update to the Home Office’s estimates of the costs of crime prior to the Department’s submission to the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008 was the 2005 publication. The monetary value per quality-adjusted life year used in the 2005 report was £80,620 in 2003 prices.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Malnutrition

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent specifically to reduce the number of malnourished children in the developing world; and which 10 countries are the largest recipients of such funding.

Lynne Featherstone: Between 2010 and 2012 DFID spent a total of £740 million (US$1.27 billion) on nutrition programmes of which £86 million (US$148 million) was spent on nutrition-specific programmes. The 10 largest recipients of nutrition specific spend were: India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Yemen, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Nepal. Full details and analysis are available in the independent Development Initiatives’ Report “DFID’s aid spending for nutrition: 2010 to 2012” which is published on its website.

Development Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which 10 countries will receive the highest amount of UK aid in the post-2015 development framework; and how much each such country will receive.

Justine Greening: Budget needs will be assessed in light of the post-2015 framework and according to country need.

India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how UK aid money to India was allocated in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014.

Alan Duncan: Plans for UK development spending in India are set out in the 2011-2015 Operational Plan:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-india-operational-plan-2011-2015--2

South Sudan

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure fair and efficient distribution of international aid in South Sudan.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID is working with aid and humanitarian partners to ensure that the aid being delivered is done so on the basis of need and prioritisation, to ensure the requirements of the most vulnerable are being met, and all accessible areas are being served.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the aid given by the UK to Yemen is spent on (a) food, (b) education, (c) housing, (d) healthcare and (e) employment.

Alan Duncan: The UK Government provided £81.3million in bilateral aid to Yemen in 2013-14. Precise data is not available for the breakdown requested, but support included approximately: £8.0 million in cash or vouchers to address food insecurity; £15.2 million towards education; £0.2 million to provide emergency shelter; £21.0 million towards health; and £4.0 million towards employment. The total also includes £7.5 million in contributions to pooled humanitarian funds for which we are awaiting final detailed data, but which included expenditure on cash and vouchers to address food insecurity, shelter, health and employment.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the UK has given to Yemen since 1 January 2012; and what comparative assessment she has made of the level of such spending in other EU countries.

Alan Duncan: The UK Government has provided over £172 million in bilateral aid to Yemen since January 2012. DFID does not hold data for the amount spent in this period for other European donors. However, the latest pledge and disbursement data collated by the Government of Yemen for the period April 2012 to December 2013 is shown in the following table. The period to which the UK’s pledge applies to extends to March 2015.
	
		
			 Donor Pledged (million USD) Disbursed (million USD) 
			 European Commission 215.4 119.75 
			 Denmark 30 15 
			 France 88.1 3.1 
			 Germany 157.6 55.4 
			 Italy 45 0 
			 Netherlands 100 50.28 
			 Spain 1.5 1.5 
			 Sweden 46.9 40.9 
			 United Kingdom 311 200.7

JUSTICE

Litter

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for failure to produce waste documents in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(2)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for depositing litter in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(3)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for failure to remove dog faeces, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(4)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for smoking in a smoke-free place, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(5)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for fly posting, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(6)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for unauthorised distribution of printed matter, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(7)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for failure to comply with a waste receptacles notice, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(8)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice, for failure to produce authority to transport waste, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(9)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice for failure to comply with a street litter clearing notice, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each area in each such year;
	(10)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice for graffiti, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each local authority area in each such year;
	(11)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice for repairing vehicles on the road, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each local authority area in each such year;
	(12)  how many people were found guilty in a magistrates' court, consequent upon non-payment or contesting of a fixed penalty notice for abandonment of a vehicle, in each local authority area in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of fines levied for such offences in each local authority area in each such year.

Jeremy Wright: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information whether a fixed penalty notice was contested or whether it was not paid and proceedings for non payment commenced.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members.

Jeremy Wright: I refer my hon. Friend to PQ 203285, responded to by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 6W.

Police Cautions

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cautions have been issued for offences of (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) sexual assault, (d) robbery and (e) burglary in (i) each year between 2010 and 2013 and (ii) each month since January 2013. [Official Report, 1 September 2014, Vol. 585, c. 2-8MC.]

Damian Green: The number of offenders (including young people) cautioned, for offences of rape, sexual assault, robbery and burglary, by months in England and Wales from 2010 to 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. There were no cautions administered for murder.
	Simple cautions (previously police cautions) are a non-statutory disposal available to the police to dispose of any offence committed by an adult and designed for dealing with low level, mainly first time offending. The Government does not believe that cautions are appropriate for serious offences. We issued new guidelines on 14 November 2014 following a detailed review of how cautions were being used by police forces, and are strengthening the law to prevent cautions being used for serious offences.
	The Ministry of Justice issues guidance on the process to be followed by the police and the CPS when they are administering simple cautions for adult offenders. This guidance states that the use of a simple caution for indictable only offences, such as rape, should only be given following authorisation by the CPS. These will be cases where there were exceptional circumstances which would mean that it was not in the public interest to prosecute.
	The overall number of simple cautions issued has halved since 2007. The cautioning rate, that is, the number of offenders cautioned as a percentage of offenders who were either cautioned or convicted, in 2013 was 20%; this has declined from a peak of 31% in 2007.
	The Government is clear that serious offences should always be brought to court and to ensure that there is increased public confidence in the justice system last year announced limits on the use of simple cautions. These changes restrict the use of cautions for indictable only offences and certain serious either way offences unless there are exceptional circumstances and a senior police officer, as well as the CPS for certain cases, has agreed that a caution should be administered.
	The MOJ guidance on Adult Simple Cautions was amended in November last year to reflect these changes, and we are currently legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to place statutory restrictions around their use.
	
		
			 Offenders cautioned1,2 for selected offences, by month, England and Wales, 2010-20133 
			  Offences Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Total 
			 2010 Murder — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			  Sexual assault4 53 31 38 40 54 58 46 57 51 46 49 24 547 
			  Rape5 3 — 4 — 3 6 4 2 5 2 5 1 35 
			  Burglary6 253 245 271 278 321 332 358 297 348 290 301 190 3,484 
			  Robbery7 6 4 24 19 23 27 27 13 18 14 19 13 207 
			  Total (all) 315 280 337 337 401 423 435 369 422 352 374 228 4,273 
			                
			 2011 Murder — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			  Sexual assault4 41 56 60 53 54 55 64 52 44 42 49 42 612 
			  Rape5 1 1 4 1 2 2 2 2 — 1 2 1 19 
			  Burglary6 237 229 290 268 — 339 340 303 311 286 259 212 3,359 
		
	
	
		
			  Robbery7 14 28 35 31 29 21 20 17 27 21 15 11 269 
			  Total (all) 293 314 389 353 370 417 426 374 382 350 325 266 4,259 
			                
			 2012 Murder — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			  Sexual assault4 44 34 46 35 55 38 46 50 60 38 56 50 552 
			  Rape5 1 2 2 — 1 1 — 4 — 1 1 3 16 
			  Burglary (6) 221 187 205 197 224 218 282 259 218 195 189 136 2,531 
			  Robbery7 12 20 18 13 11 17 11 18 23 16 19 10 188 
			  Total (all) 278 243 271 245 291 274 339 331 301 250 265 199 3,287 
			                
			 2013 Murder — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			  Sexual assault4 58 49 47 46 36 41 59 53 55 34 45 45 568 
			  Rape5 1 — 5 3 — — 1 2 4 3 — 1 20 
			  Burglary6 167 153 152 145 208 196 185 175 177 153 143 119 1,973 
			  Robbery7 10 10 13 13 13 8 19 5 10 4 3 11 119 
			  Total (all) 236 212 217 207 257 245 264 235 246 194 191 176 2,680 
			 1 The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. 2 From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 Sexual Offences Act 2003, s2, s3, s6, s7 5 Sexual Offences Act 2003, s1, s5 6 Theft Act 1968, s.9, S.9(1)(a), S.9(1)(b), S.9 (1)(a) or (b), S.10 7 Theft Act 1968, S.8 Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Prison Accommodation: Wales

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of levels of occupancy in prisons in Wales.

Jeremy Wright: Individual prison population and capacity information for every prison in England and Wales is published monthly on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures-2014
	Prisons are not expected to operate above their operational capacity and ensuring that this capacity is set to reflect the provision of safe and decent accommodation and the operation of suitable regimes ensures that levels of crowding in prisons are carefully managed.
	Sensible measures have been taken to ensure that we have sufficient capacity to deal with any temporary increases in population. These include creating additional places in prisons in a safe and decent way and ensuring that prisons reflect the needs of the current population.
	We will end this Parliament with more adult male prison places than we inherited, more hours of work in prisons than we inherited, more education for young detainees than we inherited and a more modern, cost effective prison estate than we inherited.

Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times prison officers confiscated illegally brewed alcohol in each prison in England and Wales in each month in 2013.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has in place a comprehensive range of security measures and searching techniques to detect items of contraband including alcohol and to prevent smuggling into prisons. In addition we use specially trained dogs to detect illicit alcohol.
	NOMS does not centrally record as a separate category the number of occasions on which alcohol is confiscated in prisons and could not provide the information without incurring disproportionate cost.

Racially Aggravated Offences: Lancashire

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions for each type of racially-aggravated offence under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 were prosecuted at each magistrates' and crown court in Lancashire in 2013.

Damian Green: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts in Lancashire police force area, for racially and religiously aggravated offences under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	The custody rate has increased since 2010 for racially and religiously aggravated offences in both the magistrates court and at the crown court.
	The description of the offences within the statute is “racially or religiously” aggravated and we are unable to disaggregate between the two. The specific circumstances of each case cannot be identified from centrally collected statistics unless specified in statute.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates' court and found guilty at all courts in Lancashire police force area, for racially and religiously aggravated offences under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, 20131, 2 
			 Court type Offence Year Proceeded against Found guilty 
			 Magistrates' court Racially/religiously aggravated offences3 2013 227 156 
			 Crown court Racially/religiously aggravated offences3 2013 — 11 
			 “__” - Nil 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Offences used 29(1)(a) Racially or religiously aggravated malicious wounding or grievous bodily harm 29(1)(b) Racially or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm 29(1)(c) Racially or religiously aggravated common assault/beating 31(1)(b) Racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment alarm or distress—words/writing 31(1)(c) Racially or religiously aggravated harassment alarm or distress 32(1)(a) Racially or religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence) 30(1) and (2) Racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Staff

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in his Department are currently employed to work on the sentence calculation helplines.

Jeremy Wright: The Department employs two officials whose principal function is to answer queries on the sentence calculation helpline. The main purpose of the helpline is to provide advice to prison establishments as to the correct way to calculate the key release dates for sentences in complex cases. It also provides advice to courts, probation, the public, solicitors and other Government Departments on the effect of the legislation governing release on key sentence dates.
	In the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, the Government made changes to the release and recall provisions in order to simplify the previous, often incomprehensible and complex legislation, making it easier for sentencers and prison staff to administer, and the public to understand the sentence.

Young Offenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison places in each prison in England and Wales are designated as available to hold offenders aged 18 to 21 years.

Jeremy Wright: The numbers of young adults in custody has been falling in recent years.
	Under the current legal framework, young adults cannot be sentenced to imprisonment or committed to prison for any reason (subject to a few exceptions). Instead the vast majority of young adults are held in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). These are either single use YOIs or establishments that have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI).
	The following list identifies the dual-designated establishments that hold young adults (aged 18-20 years old) and adults (aged 21 and over). We do not set the number of places available for young adults in dual designated institutions
	Prisons holding young adults and adults in July 2014
	Institution
	Altcourse
	Askham Grange
	Bedford
	Belmarsh
	Bristol
	Bronzefield
	Bullingdon
	Cardiff
	Chelmsford
	Doncaster
	Drake Hall
	Durham
	East Sutton Park
	Eastwood Park
	Elmley
	Exeter
	Forest Bank
	Foston Hall
	High Down
	Hollesley Bay
	Holloway
	Holme House
	Hull
	Isis
	Lancaster Farms*
	Lewes
	Littlehey*
	Lincoln
	Low Newton
	Manchester
	Moorland Closed
	Hatfield
	New Hall
	Norwich
	Nottingham
	Parc
	Pentonville
	Peterborough
	Portland
	Preston
	Prescoed
	Rochester
	Stoke Heath
	Styal
	Swansea
	Swinfen Hall
	Thameside
	Thorn Cross
	Wandsworth
	Winchester
	Woodhill
	Wormwood Scrubs
	* On 13 March 2014 the Government announced that single use young adult YOIs Littlehey and Lancaster Farms would change function to adult use only.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Recruitment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants employed through the Northern Ireland graduate fast track scheme between 1 June 2004 and 1 June 2014 were educated at (a) private and (b) state schools.

Theresa Villiers: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), today.

Terrorism

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 762W, on terrorism, if the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy to which she refers was by way of Letters Patent; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy has been granted in Northern Ireland in the last 20 years by means of Letters Close (Litterae Clausae); and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Since 1997, no Letters Patent or Letters Close have been issued in Northern Ireland in relation to the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). Where the RPM was used in this period by the previous Government, it was effected by means of a Royal Warrant.
	As the hon. Member is aware, my Department continues to seek information on the use of the RPM between 1987 and 1997, including through contacts with other parts of Government which might hold relevant information. On the basis of the work carried out on this so far, there is no indication that Letters Patent or Letters Close were issued between 1987 and 1997 in relation to the use of the RPM in Northern Ireland.

Terrorism

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the people who are known to have received the Royal Prerogative of Mercy by Letters Patent or under any other authority, in the last 20 years; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Since 1997, no Letters Patent have been issued in Northern Ireland in relation to the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). Where the RPM was used in this period by the previous Government, it was effected by means of a Royal Warrant.
	As the hon. Member is aware, my Department continues to seek information on the use of the RPM between 1987 and 1997, including through contacts with other parts of Government which might hold relevant information.
	As the hon. Member is also aware, the assessment of my Department is that to release the names of individuals granted the RPM years ago would not be appropriate, given the time that has passed since the RPM was last used and the potential legal issues this would raise. There are of course means by which names of RPM recipients become public, including in the course of legal proceedings, which is a matter for the courts.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what records are kept of the concentrations of identified toxic chemicals in a fume event in each of the principal classes of civil aviation airliners operating within the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether any UK agencies or Departments conduct or have conducted research into the long-term consequences of repeated exposure of air crews to low levels of toxic fumes within civil aviation aircraft; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions he or Ministers in his Department have had with (a) airlines and (b) organisations about fume events in UK airlines; and if he will take steps to improve the monitoring of the air quality in UK airliners;
	(4)  how many fume events were recorded in (a) UK civil aviation aircraft and (b) other aircraft using UK airports operating within the UK in the last 12 months; and which agency is responsible for recording these events.

Robert Goodwill: In the period 1 June 2013 to 31 May 2014, from over a million passenger and cargo flights the Civil Aviation Authority received 309 reports of 'contaminated air' from UK operators under the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme. Incidents involving non-UK operators would be reported to the relevant national authority and we do not have data on the number of occurrences involving non-UK operators.
	The majority of incidents of contaminated air are brief, lasting for periods of a few seconds to a few minutes. No records of chemical concentrations are kept as there is no equipment currently available which could be installed on aircraft and capture this information.
	The Department has completed four research studies into cabin air, which involved close cooperation with airlines to facilitate the research. The main study was published by Cranfield university in May 2011, and concluded there was no evidence for pollutants occurring in cabin air at levels exceeding available health and safety standards and guidelines.
	The Department has also engaged with the Committee on Toxicity, which considered the Department’s four published reports during 2013. The Committee concluded that there is no evidence that fume events are causing ill health in passengers or crew and, as a result, there are no plans to change the monitoring of air quality in UK carriers.

Aviation: Northern Ireland

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to support regional air links with Northern Ireland.

Robert Goodwill: Northern Ireland is well-connected by air to London with over 18,000 flights per year between the two Belfast airports and the five main London airports, carrying over two million passengers. The Belfast airports also maintain good connections with other UK airports—Belfast International Airport has connections to fourteen domestic destinations, and Belfast City Airport to eighteen.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) announced in this year's Budget that funding to maintain existing air connectivity to London—first announced in the 2013 Spending Round last June—will increase from £10 million to £20 million per year. It will be expanded to include provision for start-up aid for new air routes from UK regional airports—including those in Northern Ireland and the other devolved administrations—which handle fewer than five million passengers per year.
	The devolved administration in Northern Ireland, or a regional body in Northern Ireland, may apply for access to the funding for regional air connectivity to maintain an air link from a Northern Ireland airport to London, where there is a risk that an existing link may be lost, and where the case for a Public Service Obligation has been made.
	The Department for Transport is working with the Treasury to develop guidance that will clarify how the Government will ordinarily expect to interpret the European Union State aid guidelines on start-up aid for new air routes, and explain how the funding process will operate across the UK. The Department for Transport expects to publish this guidance in the autumn.

Driving Instruction

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to make the Fleet Driver Trainer register mandatory for paid vocational driver training;
	(2)  what plans his Department has to introduce mandatory regulation of B+E driving instructors.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) consulted recently on proposals to modernise and, as far as possible, reduce any potential burden that the current regulatory framework could place on approved driving instructors (ADI); it will publish the response to consultation shortly.
	The consultation’s proposals were designed to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses, therefore, the consultation document proposed that DVSA would not mandate the voluntary fleet driver trainer register.
	The pass rate for the B+E practical test is 67%, one of the highest pass rates for any category of test; unlike learner drivers people seeking B+E instruction must already hold a full category B driving licence. Most BE instruction is already carried out by vocational trainers who are competent to provide this service given their expertise in delivering training in category C vehicles and CE. Therefore, DVSA currently has no plans to extend the regulation of paid driving instruction in a motor car to BE training; neither does it have plans to extend the regulatory framework for ADIs to cover paid vocational driver training.

First Transpennine Express and Northern Rail

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether rolling stock to be delivered to Northern Rail and TransPennine Express over the next six years will be configured to allow the option of retaining the operational role of the guard.

Stephen Hammond: A public consultation exercise is being conducted which will inform the franchise specifications. The consultation can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320806/northern-transpennine-consultation.pdf
	No decisions have yet been made. However we expect it will be for the winning bidders of the Northern and TransPennine Express franchise competitions to decide what rolling stock to use and whether to configure this rolling stock to allow for retaining the operational role of the guard.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members.

Stephen Hammond: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 7 July 2014, Official Report, columns 5-6W.

Police: Ports

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the extent to which chief officers of territorial police forces have used the Marine Navigation Act 2013 to permit port constables to act outside their port area for policing purposes connected with the port constable's police area.

Stephen Hammond: Of the six English port police forces, able to use the Marine Navigation Act, the port police forces for Bristol, Dover and Teesport have sought and received the consent of the chief constable of the relevant territorial police force to exercise certain powers outside their port area, while a fourth, Liverpool port police, is currently seeking it.

Policy

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at what level his Department values the reduction of risk of death per fatal casualty prevented; and if he will give an example of policy intervention where this evaluation was made.

Robert Goodwill: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 167WJ.
	The value of a prevented fatality is used in the appraisal for every infrastructure investment business case. It is also used in the impact assessments for relevant policy interventions. For example, the impact assessment on the new drug driving offence takes account of the value of preventing a fatality in assessing the overall impact of the offence. The latest impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111117422/impacts

Railways: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has considered funding in the 2019 to 2024 spending review for the Brighton Mainline 2; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has not yet begun the process of formally considering options for funding during railway Control Period 6 (2019 to 2024). When this process formally commences in 2015, it will likely identify a range of potential options for investment, some of which may include elemens of the wide ranging proposals, collectively known as “Brighton Main Line 2”.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Belfast was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in June 2014.

Stephen Hammond: During June 2014 Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk assessed levels on 25 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	Where there are specific issues at a MRCC Her Majesty’s Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Rescue Services: Liverpool

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Liverpool was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in June 2014.

Stephen Hammond: During June 2014 Liverpool Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk assessed levels on 27 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	Where there are specific issues at a MRCC Her Majesty’s Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Rescue Services: Stornoway

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Stornoway was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in June 2014.

Stephen Hammond: During June 2014 Stornoway Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk assessed levels on 25 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	Where there are specific issues at a MRCC Her Majesty’s Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Rescue Services: Stornoway

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway has permanent radio access to the radio network covering the Clyde, Arran and the Ayrshire coast.

Stephen Hammond: The radio sites covering the Clyde, Arran and Ayrshire coast were transferred to Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) when Clyde MRCC closed in December 2012.
	As part of the pairing ‘infrastructure’ there is a fixed link between Belfast and Stornoway MRCCs which enables Coastguards at Stornoway MRCC to have permanent radio access to the entire Belfast MRCC radio estate (or vice versa). In addition the MRCCs at Aberdeen or Shetland can ‘dial in’ to provide further support if required.

Roads: Hampshire

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the three most recent (a) traffic counts, (b) speed measurements and (c) weight-of-vehicles measurements are from the B3006 Selborne Road between the A31 at Alton and the A3 Ham Barn roundabout.

Robert Goodwill: The Department's estimates the average annual daily flow, measured in the number of vehicles a day, for a selection of minor roads each year including the B3006 near Stairs Hill Farmhouse.
	Figures for the last three years are in the following table.
	
		
			  Average annual daily flow 
			 2011 8,529 
			 2012 7,107 
			 2013 7,826 
		
	
	Estimates of average speeds and weight-of-vehicle measurements for the B3006 are not held centrally.

Shipping: Equal Pay

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many contraventions of the regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 preventing differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area have been investigated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since 1 August 2011; and what the (a) outcome and (b) flag of each vessel was in each such investigation;
	(2)  what enforcement activity the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has undertaken of the regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 to prevent differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area since 1 August 2011;
	(3)  what activities the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has undertaken among employers in the (a) UK, (b) European and (c) international shipping industry to ensure compliance with the regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 to prevent differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area since 1 August 2011;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of the regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 to prevent differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area on vessels registered under Category 1 and Category 2 Red Ensign Group registries.

Stephen Hammond: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is not responsible for the enforcement of regulations made under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010, and has therefore not undertaken any enforcement or investigations, or any activity to ensure compliance with or assess the effectiveness of these regulations. This is a matter for the Government Equality Office.
	The Department for Transport is undertaking a review of the regulations in conjunction with other Government Departments, trade associations and union representatives. This will include looking at whether the regulations are achieving their objectives—including those relevant to differential pay.

Shipping: Equal Pay

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what awareness activities the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has undertaken among (a) UK shipowners, (b) owners of UK flagged vessels and (c) the European shipping industry on regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 to prevent differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area since 1 August 2011.

Stephen Hammond: Part 6 of the Equality Act 2010 is not a responsibility of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and it has not undertaken awareness activities since 1 August 2011.
	The Agency has, however, used its UK Ship Register newsletter, in 2009 and early in 2011, to draw attention generally to the provisions of the Equality Act.

Shipping: Equal Pay

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of vessels that have de-flagged from the Red Ensign Group where the shipowner cited the regulations under Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 to prevent differential pay rates for seafarers from countries in the European Economic Area as the motivating factor in each year since 1 August 2011.

Stephen Hammond: Since 1 August 2011, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is aware that two vessels have left the UK Ship Register where their owners have cited the reason for leaving as being the Equality Act.
	Information relating to details of the other registers in the Red Ensign Group is not available to the MCA.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the effect of the EU Sulphur Directive on (a) the shipping industry, (b) jobs and (c) the environment; and what the outcome of the conversations has been.

Stephen Hammond: In the last 18 months, there have been several meetings between officials from the Department for Transport and their French counterparts to consider the effect of the EU directive on sulphur content of marine fuels on the shipping industry, jobs and the environment. One of these meetings was a quadripartite meeting between UK and French officials and representatives of the UK Chamber of Shipping and its counterpart, the Armateurs de France.
	As a result of these discussions, the Governments of the UK and France have supported applications to secure EU finance under the trans-European network (TEN-T) programme, and affordable capital through the European Investment Bank, on the part of shipowners and ports which wish to invest in green technologies. We have also obtained an assurance from the European Commission that it will meet individual ferry operators who wish to discuss their 'route to compliance' strategy.

TREASURY

Banks

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will publish a list of each application for the change of control of a bank made in the last four years;
	(2)  when his Department last conducted a review of the process of granting authorisation for (a) banks and (b) insurance companies;
	(3)  where each company seeking authorisation as a bank was located when the application was made in each of the last four years; and when each such application was determined.

Andrea Leadsom: The publication of details and statistics on new bank authorisations, and changes of control are matters for the independent financial regulators: the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
	The PRA and FCA published a Review of the authorisation process as part of ‘A review of requirements for firms entering into or expanding in the banking sector: one year on’, on 7 July 2014. This followed an earlier review of barriers to entry published in March 2013.
	The PRA published its Annual Report and Accounts 2014 in June, which included details of the number of banks and insurance firms authorised between 1 April 2013 and 28 February 2014. The PRA has committed to publish authorisation statistics on an annual basis.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure that parents use their tax-free childcare accounts to pay for childcare; and what additional costs such checks will place on HM Revenue and Customs.

Nicky Morgan: Parents’ payments from their Tax-Free Childcare accounts will only go to registered childcare providers. HMRC will investigate in the exceptional circumstances where it suspects the payments were not used for childcare. The Childcare Payments Bill sets out HMRC’s proposed compliance powers.
	The administration costs of the scheme will be settled once the scheme’s design has been finalised.

Consumers: Protection

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) consumers and (b) endorsement of consumer protection law of the hand-over of investigations from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market. The transfer of regulatory responsibility for consumer credit from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took effect in April. The FCA has stronger powers and is far better equipped to protect consumers than the OFT.
	The Government has ensured that the FCA has inherited the OFT’s powers (both criminal and regulatory) in relation to misconduct which occurred before 1 April 2014, as well as considerably strengthening the FCA’s powers in relation to misconduct which occurs under the new regulatory regime.
	The FCA has the same powers as the OFT had to investigate and prosecute offences under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
	The FCA has also inherited the OFT’s power to fine, although the OFT’s power to fine under the Consumer Credit Act was limited to fining a firm for breaches of a requirement imposed by the OFT (and the maximum penalty in this regard was £50,000). The Government has already strengthened the new regime by giving the FCA the ability to impose unlimited fines for breaches of regulatory requirements that take place after 1 April 2014.

Economic Growth

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the level of growth in the UK economy in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015; and what change in the level of public sector employment he anticipates will take place in each region and constituent part of the UK in that time.

Nicky Morgan: The OBR is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts of the UK economy. The OBR’s most recent forecast (published at Budget 2014) is for UK GDP to grow by 2.7% this year and 2.3% in 2015.
	The OBR forecast general Government employment will fall by 0.1 million in 2014 and 2015. This is more than offset by increases in market sector employment of 0.5 million in 2014 and 0.3 million in 2015.

Financial Institutions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the role of private equity in providing capital to the (a) banking sector and (b) insurance sector.

Andrea Leadsom: This question has been passed on to the Presidential Regulation Authority (PRA). The PRA will reply to directly to my hon. Friend by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Kirby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 5W.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to bring forward proposals to help the insurance industry to reduce the cost of car insurance for newly qualified drivers.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to seeking ways to bring down the costs of car insurance for young drivers. Ministers recently held a roundtable for the insurance industry, at which it was agreed that the Government would commission new research into how telematics can change the behaviour and attitudes of learner drivers.
	The Government is also in the process of undertaking some focus groups with parents, young people and employers to get a better understanding of the issues from their perspective. We will publish the findings of the research and focus groups in due course.

Revenue and Customs

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse was of the Building Our Future workshops held for all HM Revenue and Customs staff.

David Gauke: 'Building our Future' is HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC's) vision for how it will serve its customers in the future, which it is currently presenting and discussing with its entire work force. HMRC wants its employees to influence how the Department is transforming to be a more effective, efficient and customer-focused organisation. The events started in May and will run until August 2014 and aim to bring together employees from different teams from across the Department.
	The final costs will be published on-line as part of the Government’s commitment to transparency.

Revenue and Customs

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of flexible resourcing within HM Revenue and Customs in terms of lost yield from staff being moved away from their normal duties to assist with call handling during the tax credit peak.

David Gauke: Call handling supports compliance at the first point of contact by helping customers to get it right first time.
	HMRC has committed to delivering £24.5 billion of compliance yield in 2014-15-that commitment remains unchanged.

Revenue and Customs: Irvine

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the tax yield generated by compliance officers working in Irvine tax office in 2013-14;
	(2)  what the (a) total operating cost and (b) staffing cost other than for staff not engaged in compliance work of Irvine tax office was in 2013-14.

David Gauke: The information requested is not available.

WALES

NATO Summit

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of the 2014 NATO summit to Wales.

David Jones: The NATO summit—hosted in the City of Newport—will be an important event to showcase Wales to an international audience. This will be the largest gathering of world leaders the UK will have ever hosted. It will highlight and help further strengthen the economic opportunities for the country.

Freedom of Information

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years.

Stephen Crabb: Nothing.

Senior Civil Servants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in his Department since 2010 were previously (a) political appointees within that Department and (b) employed by a political party.

Stephen Crabb: None.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Apprentices

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities how many apprentices the Department has accepted as part of the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme; and how many were (a) women and (b) men in each year since the scheme started.

Helen Grant: The Department does not currently have any apprentices from the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme. We have however taken part in the Summer Diversity Internship Programme and offer placements to individuals on the various Fast Stream schemes. These schemes are managed centrally by Cabinet Office and Civil Service Resourcing.

Mental Health Services: LGBT People

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities what discussions the Government Equalities Office has had with LGBT mental health service providers in the last year.

Helen Grant: Ministers and officials from the Government Equalities Office regularly meet a broad range of LGB&T stakeholders, including mental health providers and other organisations with an interest in this area, to discuss key issues and priorities for the sector. Topics raised include the mental health needs of LGB&T individuals, areas of discrimination and issues with service provision.
	In the last year, officials have met with organisations with an interest in this area including: the Albert Kennedy Trust, Bi Community News, Bisexual Index, BiUK, Broken Rainbow, GALOP, GIRES, METRO Centre, PACE, Press for Change, Stonewall, Stonewall Housing, The Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF), The LGBT Consortium, and The National LGB&T Partnership. The LGBT Consortium, the National LGB&T Partnership and BiUK are umbrella organisations who raise issues on behalf of their wider membership. Officials also sit on the Parliamentary Forum on Gender Identity where mental health issues are regularly raised. Officials have also had meetings with NHS England and Public Health England at which they have discussed mental health issues.
	In the last year, the Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities met representatives from the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, LGB&T Consortium, PACE Health, Stonewall, Broken Rainbow, the METRO Centre, and BiUK on 10 October 2013; and representatives from GIRES, Gendered Intelligence and the Gender Identity Clinic in Hammersmith on 15 October 2013.
	On 12 June 2014 the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport visited Birmingham LGBT Centre which hosts mental health services. The Secretary of State also met leading LGB&T representatives on 30 June 2014 including Stonewall, Lesbian and Gay Foundation, LGB&T Consortium, GIRES, and Gendered Intelligence. Health issues were discussed at all events.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities what proportion of named day written questions were answered within the prescribed period in each year since 2010.

Helen Grant: Since joining DCMS in September 2012, as part of a machinery of government move, the Government Equalities Office has answered the following proportion of its Named Day parliamentary questions within the prescribed period:
	2012 (September 2012 to Dec 2012) 0% (of those late 55% were answered within one day of the prescribed period)
	2013 (January 2013 to December 2013) 46% (of those late 22% were answered within one day of the prescribed period)
	2014 (January 2014 to Date) 83% (of those late 50% were answered within one day of the prescribed period)
	The Department does not hold figures for previous years.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) internal and (b) external complaints have been received by his Department about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct since 2010; and what actions his Department has taken in response to each such complaint.

Michael Penning: The requirements of the Civil Service Code are incorporated within the Department's Standards of Behaviour Policy which sets out the Department's high expectations of employees. Breaches of the Civil Service Code are not specifically identified; the Department records disciplinary incidents under its Standards of Behaviour policy.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the proposed funding model for residential training colleges will be announced.

Michael Penning: Decisions around the future of DWP commissioned residential training college provision is still subject to internal departmental governance. We expect to be in a position to clarify this shortly.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who received the new enterprise allowance have since reclaimed (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) income support as a lone parent and (c) employment and support allowance; and how many of these were (i) women and (ii) men.

Esther McVey: The Department has made an assessment of the number of new enterprise allowance participants returning to any out-of-work benefit in the following published analysis. This suggests that 78% of people who started drawing the new enterprise allowance remained off benefit continuously for 12 months.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225167/NEA_benefit_status_ad-hoc_v3.pdf
	The analysis is not available by type of benefit or by gender.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets there are on increasing the number of women receiving the new enterprise allowance; and what progress has been made on these targets in the last year.

Esther McVey: There are no formal targets in place for increasing the number of women who participate in the New Enterprise Allowance scheme. Latest statistics show that since the launch of NEA in 2011 to the end of March 2014, there were 46,000 allowance claims, of which 15,720 were from women. The weekly allowance is payable when the participant closes their claim to benefits and commences trading. The rate of take up of NEA by women is approximately one third of the total. This is consistent with the proportion of women claiming jobseeker's allowance (the benefit claimed by the majority of NEA participants), demonstrating the success of the scheme in attracting all groups to access this support.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the recipients of the new enterprise allowance who previously claimed (a) access to work benefits, (b) disability living allowance and (c) incapacity benefit were (i) male and (ii) female.

Esther McVey: The numbers of recipients of new enterprise allowance financial support for whom we have a record of at least one claim for access to work, disability living allowance, incapacity benefit or employment support allowance are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 NEA participants with at least one previous claim for access to work (ATW), disability living allowance (DLA), incapacity benefit (IB) and/or employment support allowance (ESA) by gender 
			  ATW DLA ESA/IB 
			 Male 100 700 8,500 
			 Female 100 400 4,000 
			 Total 200 1,200 12,500 
		
	
	
		
			 Notes: 1. Figures rounded to nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding 2. Figures include all claims for ATW and ESA and all live claims since 28 June 1999 for IB and DLA. 3. Claimants are counted for each of the benefits they have claimed previously, e.g. someone who has claimed DLA and IB is counted in both columns. 4. Claimants who have previously claimed both ESA and IB are only counted once in the ESA/IB column. 5. DLA can be claimed at the same time as NEA. Figures include NEA participants whose DLA claim continues whilst also receiving NEA financial support. 6. Access to work is available to NEA participants. Figures for ATW include those who claimed ATW support within six months of starting NEA financial support.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) women's and (b) men's business plans which were approved received a weekly allowance for 26 weeks of a total of £1,274 as part of the new enterprise allowance.

Esther McVey: The information is not held centrally. We estimate that developing an appropriate methodology and quality assuring the analysis would exceed disproportionate cost limits.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) women and (b) men are recipients of the new enterprise allowance.

Esther McVey: Official Statistics on the numbers of new enterprise allowance mentoring starts and financial support starts are published quarterly and can be accessed via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working#new-enterprise-allowance-statistics
	These statistics include a breakdown of starts by gender.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single parents have set up businesses using the new enterprise allowance scheme; and of these, what proportion are female.

Esther McVey: The information is not available.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) women and (b) men have applied for the new enterprise allowance.

Esther McVey: Data on the number of applications for new enterprise allowance is not available.

Personal Independence Payment

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people whose main disability is cystic fibrosis are in receipt of the mobility award for personal independence payment at the (a) standard and (b) enhanced rate;
	(2)  how many people whose main disability is cystic fibrosis are in receipt of the daily living award for personal independence payment at the (a) standard and (b) enhanced rate.

Michael Penning: The information requested to the level of detail asked for is not currently available. We intend to publish more detailed data on medical conditions in the future.
	Information on the numbers of successful new claimants is available against a range of conditions, including respiratory conditions which will include those who have cystic fibrosis. The information is published and can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Procurement

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department's procurement expenditure was awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) direct procurement and (b) indirect procurement spend in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013; and what the projected proportion is for (A) 2014, (B) 2015 and (C) 2016.

Michael Penning: The information requested is best provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage of total DWP spend with SME’s 
			  Direct SME spend Indirect SME spend Total SME spend 
			 2010-11 14.99 1.95 16.94 
			 2011-12* 11.11 5.90 17.01 
			 2012-13** 7.10 8.90 16.00 
			 2013-14 4.20 11.28 15.48 
			 Note: Percentage figures have been rounded to 2 decimal places 
		
	
	
		
			 Targets for percentage total spend with SME’s 
			  Spend (%) 
			 2014-15 16 
			 2015-16 18.5 
			 2016-17 21 
		
	
	With around 78% of the Department’s contract expenditure due to be re-tendered in the next 4 years, the Department will undertake a number of activities designed to encourage SME’s to engage with our procurement exercises.

Universal Credit: Domestic Violence

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the risk of a link between the introduction of universal credit and levels of domestic violence.

Esther McVey: No such assessment is planned. There are safeguards in place in universal credit to ensure that we have the ability to split payments between partners in cases of domestic violence, allowing each claimant to receive a separate payment.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the independent evaluation of the Work programme to be published.

Esther McVey: Findings from the final stages of the Work programme evaluation will be published once the evaluation is complete, currently expected to be at the end of 2014.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve the performance of the Work programme for people over 50 years of age; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The Work programme is continuing to offer tailored support to people over 50 and providers are continuing to design support based on each individual need.
	Work programme performance has been improving. Providers are improving their own performance, in part driven by the Department's performance management regime.